Google Outs Collaborative Feature For 'Just A Line' AR App

Google has added a new feature to its "Just a Line" augmented reality (AR) app which allows two users to jointly create a doodle in AR simultaneously across different platforms. The new feature is designed to let a user draw with another individual by placing two devices next to each other and then clicking the partner icon to connect the phones. Once that is done, the collaborative process of creating a doodle together with a friend can start. Google stresses that this feature, which is now available to download from the Play Store, only works with an Android device that includes support for Google's ARCore platform for developing AR experiences.

The Just a Line app was officially launched last March to allow users to draw using their phone. Powered by Google's ARCore technology and paired with a bit of artistic creativity, Just A Line allows users to draw on top of an image as seen by the phone’s camera viewfinder, holding the device as if taking a picture. The AR drawing can then be stored in the handset's gallery for later viewing or sharing with friends and family via different social media platforms supported by the app. It is, perhaps, worth pointing out that the AR app does not let users create an image. Instead, Just a Line allows an individual to make a short video so that a user first taps the record button before beginning the process of making a virtual drawing. The app then records every step of the doodle creation until either the user hits the stop button or the timer itself reaches the end. After that, the user can then save the clip on the phone's storage device.

Google's Just a Line app is just one of several projects created by the Google Creative Lab as part of the ARCore expansion. That means users need to have a phone that works with the ARCore technology to be able to make use of the app, though the number of devices compatible with the platform is limited at the moment, including the Google Pixel and Pixel 2 range of devices, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 series, Galaxy Note 8, LG V30 and V30 Plus, ASUS ZenFone AR, and OnePlus 5.